EPBC gives green tick to massive Queensland battery in just 41 days, now for the state

Global investment giant Quinbrook has been given the federal green light for its ambitious Queensland big battery plans, less than two months after referring them for environmental assessment under the EPBC Act.

The 780 megawatt (MW), 2,200 megawatt hour (MWh) Supernode North battery and substation just south of Townsville, in Queensland, was this week cleared as “not a controlled action” by the federal environment minister, moving the huge project closer to construction.

Unlike Quinbrook’s first battery in the state, the Supernode South Pine edition in Brisbane which is geared towards supporting an on-site data centre, the northern version will be the backbone of an $8 billion polysilicon factory – Australia’s first. 

The next hurdle for Supernode north will be securing the state government sign-off.  

The local development application, submitted by Quinbrook’s development arm Private Energy Partners, was rejected by the Townsville City Council in December because midway through the process, the state government changed the rules for big batteries.

Big batteries are now impact accessible, and have to put together the same community benefits arrangements that wind and solar projects do. 

All of which means the final sign off now lies with the Queensland government’s State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA), rather than local councils.

It pays to follow the new rules laid out in December, as two big batteries have been called-in by planning minister and anti-renewables MP Jarrod Bleijie this year and another is waiting to see if it will be as well. 

The latest call-in, a process where a minister intervenes in development applications, was Trina Solar’s Pleystowe battery, which it promptly dumped. 

However, Queensland Conservation Council chief Katie-Anne Mulder believes it would be a brave minister to go against a council’s wishes when it comes to planning – and the Townsville City Council is backing the site where Quinbrook wants to put its new battery.

The council is managing the development of the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct, with proposals for green hydrogen, battery making, and of course the Solquartz polysilicon plant.

Quinbrook is backing the polysilicon plant which will provide feedstock for Australia-made solar panels, which its battery will help to run. 

The Northern Quartz Campus sits north of where the 330  kilovolt (kV) CopperStrong transmission line will hook into an existing 275 kV line heading up to Townsville. 

Already there are three big solar projects within 30km of the new Supernode site being planned, and one already operational. 

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